


Blue Skies Before Me

by parka_girl



Series: khiphop au [3]
Category: K-pop, MBLAQ, Speed (Kpop)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Khiphop, Hip Hop, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-05
Updated: 2014-03-05
Packaged: 2018-01-14 16:11:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1272793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parka_girl/pseuds/parka_girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>khiphop AU: This is the story of how they met. Joon's just out of enlistment, Taewoon's just about to enlist. And then they meet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blue Skies Before Me

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to J for her encouragement and thanks to [**intoaclub**](http://intoaclub.livejournal.com/profile) for giving me the best possible pairing.

**Joon**  
The first time they meet, it's 2008. Joon's 20 and fresh out of the military. He just wants to sing, but he's too old for auditions. But then a friend, someone Joon can't even remember now, invites him to sing on a track for him. At a some sort of hip hop gig and Joon agrees, even though he's got no idea what hip hop is. But it pays well enough and so they keep working together, at least for a few nights. Then the friend moves on, but Joon thinks he might've found his calling. 

The club he goes to, on the suggestion of one of his friends (a new one, a rapper who's gotten him a couple of other songs to work on), is packed. There are a lot of girls, but mostly guys. They're here to see some group, Joon doesn't know who. But before the headliners, there's this kid. Joon doesn't find out, until later, that it's Taewoon. But he's transfixed. The kid's voice is good, it's deep and it twists something in Joon. He wants to sing with him, he doesn't know how he knows this or what it is about that kid that draws him in, but he finds he can't fight it.

After the show, Joon's friend drags him along to some after party. Promising him an introduction, after revealing to Joon that the kid's name is Taewoon, and Joon agrees to go. It turns out it's really a farewell party for the guy. He's enlisting shortly and this was his last show. Joon feels his heart fall, because it's not fair. He wants to sing with this guy and now he can't. But they hit it off anyway, because of course they do, and right there, in the restaurant, Taewoon raps and Joon's singing and when they're done, the room is silent for a full minute before everyone's clapping. 

They leave together, because Joon's got a car and Taewoon hasn't. _When you get discharged_ , Joon says, _we'll do something together_. 

Taewoon grins at him and promises he'll keep in touch. And they do. Taewoon gets civil service, stationed near where he lives and so they hang out. They write music in Taewoon's bedroom, in Joon's flat and sometimes out with their friends. They got out, occasionally, but mostly they just hang out and write. Joon has other gigs, works with other rappers. He even gets featured on a few albums. But mostly he's just waiting, just biding his time, until Taewoon is discharged. 

The week it happens, they hang out. They get drunk and spent the night singing karaoke in Joon's flat, until someone calls the police on them. Then the next night they do it all over again, only they're not as loud and not as drunk. They crawl into bed, together, because they're friends, best friends now, if Joon's honest. 

"You still wanna sing with me, hyung?" Taewoon asks. 

The question hangs between them, filling all the empty spaces in the room, making the quiet seem to have a weight to it. Joon studies Taewoon from under lidded eyes. The answer is so easy, so obvious, it's right there. 

Joon thinks they're both sobering up, too. This conversation couldn't've happened the night before, but now … His thoughts trail off as he rolls onto his side, propping his head up and watching Taewoon. "I do." 

Taewoon turns his head, grinning over at Joon. "Good, but you don't mind if I rap with Jiho?" 

He laughs, shaking his head and punches Taewoon awkwardly in the side. "No, man. You're gonna make Woo Brothers happen?" They'd had this sort of conversation off and on while he was enlisted. Jiho's not bad, Joon had gone to support him, when Taewoon couldn't. He'd never get in the way of the brothers, as much as he wants to keep Taewoon for himself.

"Yeah." Taewoon's voice is a little softer, like he's drifting off to sleep. "But mostly I wanna rap with you, hyung. You're what I've been missing." His eyes close and then he's asleep.

Joon watches Taewoon as he sleeps, the words rolling around in his head. He's lucky, he thinks, to have met Taewoon. He shifts, stretching out until his arm is resting against Taewoon's. He falls asleep to dreams of crowds roaring their name and Taewoon staring right at him. 

**Taewoon**  
He's been rapping since he was little, before he even knew what hip hop was. He's always loved it, as much as his brother. His gigs were usually small, he was always rapping with someone else. But when he turned 17, he'd gotten to do his first concert. He wasn't famous or anything, but he knew people (who knew people and who liked him). He'd do show openers for a lot of bigger names, it was fun. He loved performing on stage, but he always felt something was missing. 

It's his last show, before his enlistment. He'd considered deferring, like he knew his brother was going to do, but his mum convinced him otherwise. So here he is, on stage and he's rapping his heart out. The crowd's not there for him, but he doesn't care, they seem to like him well enough. And afterward, his hyungs take him out for dinner. He meets Joon there, the first time they've actually met each other, though Taewoon's heard him sing before. But it's not until they start jamming, right there, that Taewoon realizes this is what he's been missing. It sort of blows his mind, but he can't bring it up because Joon's older and all sorts of other excuses that Taewoon comes up with. 

Until Joon's offering to drive him home, because he's sober and has a car and Taewoon's neither completely sober nor a car owner. He says yes. The car ride is quiet, until they're at a stoplight and Joon looks over at him. 

_When you get discharged, he says, voice quiet, we'll do something together._

Taewoon stares at him and then grins like an idiot. He promises to keep in touch with Joon, exchanging numbers before getting out of the car. But he doesn't expect that they'll keep hanging out. So what if Joon's two years older, so what if he's got other gigs with other rappers. Somehow they still hang out. They spent most of their time writing music and Taewoon is infinitely grateful that he's doing civil service. He can't imagine his life without Joon in it. 

And then, somehow, his two years is up. The first thing he does is hang out with Joon. They get drunk and stay up all night. They do the same thing the next night, only this time they don't get quite as drunk. It's almost three in the morning when they finally crawl into bed. Taewoon tries not to shiver as Joon crawls in bed with him. He's spent the night at Joon's before, he likes it because Joon makes him feel comfortable. 

He stares up at the ceiling, thinking about all their promises, before he enlisted and all the songs they wrote while he was serving. "You still wanna sing with me, hyung?" He finally asks, breaking the silence. 

He feels the bed shift as Joon moves. He waits, nervous energy coursing through him. He doesn't know what he'll do if Joon says no. But then Joon's talking. 

"I do." Joon replies and when Taewoon turns to look at him, Joon's on his side, watching him with a smile on his face. Taewoon grins back, widely. 

Then he sobers a little, holding Joon's gaze. "Good, but you don't mind if I rap with Jiho?" 

It's not as long a wait for a reply, this time. Joon punches him, lightly, and he's smiling as he answers. "No, man. You're gonna make Woo Brothers happen?" 

Taewoon nods, "yeah." His voice is soft as he thinks about his brother. He'd always wanted to rap with him. When they were little, they'd do shows for their parents and friends. Stupid stuff, kid stuff. But now Jiho's getting better and he's loads better, too. He knows they'd be good on stage. 

He glances over at Joon, who's watching him with an odd look on his face. He stares at Joon, then breaks eye contact when he stomach twists on him. He tries to think about rapping with anyone else, aside from Jiho. He can do it, he knows he can, but all he wants to do is rap with Joon. 

He lets his eyes drift shut, feeling the alcohol and the lack of sleep at last, then he's talking again. "But mostly I wanna rap with you, hyung. You're what I've been missing." He wants to open his eyes to see what Joon's reaction is, but he can't keep his eyes open and he slides into sleep, to dreams of screaming crowds and Joon's voice in his ears, singing. 

**Both**  
Their first gig together is in the club where they almost met, but didn't meet until after. The headliners are the same group, but this time Joon and Taewoon are on stage together. They don't have a name, neither of them could agree on anything, and so when they're announced, it's just as Joon and Taewoon. 

One of their friends spins their beats and music, just offstage. The stage is dim, the lights could be better and the sound system isn't the best. It's gotten worse, Joon'll complain later, in the past two years. But none of it matters as they're singing, as Joon's singing, weaving his voice in and out of Taewoon's raps. Some of the songs are mostly his singing, others are Taewoon's rapping. But they're always blending their voices together. 

When it's over, the crowd is screaming. For them. They grin across the stage at each other. And then they're being called off, the lights on the stage go down as the other group starts to set up. Taewoon grabs Joon's arm, pulling him off the stage. They go outside, there's no back group. Some of their friends are out there, and everyone's talking at once. 

Joon can't stop grinning and Taewoon can't stop, either. Neither of them thought, or even hoped, that it would be so good. The DJ gets a phone call from someone he knows and suddenly they've got another gig, a bigger one. Someone's handing out beers and Joon holds his out to Taewoon and they toast, to their future. To bigger and better things. And to each other.


End file.
